


Speechless in Las Vegas

by kcanwrite



Series: I Bring Life Project [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Las Vegas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2018-02-28 17:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2741018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcanwrite/pseuds/kcanwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While on a trip to 1998 Las Vegas, the Eleventh Doctor and Clara encounter a certain blonde companion experimenting with universe-jumping technology.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speechless in Las Vegas

**Author's Note:**

> This was part of the I Bring Life Project. The prompt was Speechless.

"Viva Las Vegas!" The Doctor shouted triumphantly, bursting through the TARDIS doors.

Clara poked her head out behind him. “Are you sure this time?”

He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, pulling her into full view of the scene. “Yes, I’m sure. Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America, Earth, 1998.”

The brilliant lights against the night sky were unmistakable. Everywhere Clara looked was a different taste of the world: Rome, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Paris. It didn’t seem to end.

The Doctor produced a pair of tickets from his purple tweed coat, “Fancy a show?”

Clara just smiled, plucking a ticket from his hand.

And they were off.

Later, as they were enjoying a burlesque variety show, the Doctor leaned over to whisper in her ear, “You know, I was there when they invented—”

He stopped short. On stage, a blonde woman had appeared, stumbling in the middle of the dancers.

"I didn’t know this was a magic gig," Clara giggled.

The woman was out of place amongst all the feathers, glitter, and exposed skin. She wore long black pants and a blue jacket. The dancers tried desperately to go on with the show, but she was center stage and obviously in shock. One svelte woman decked out in peacock feathers shoved her towards the audience in an attempt to reclaim the stage.

"Doctor?" Clara asked.

He’d gone quiet, mouth agape.

"What’s going on? Are you alright?"

Suddenly, he was running and jumping over seats, racing to the stage. He was moving faster than Clara had ever seen him move before. When he leapt to the stage, he put a gentle arm around the woman and whispered quickly in her ear as he ushered her offstage. The surprise on her face was visible to Clara eleven rows back. When the two passed her, the Doctor gestured for Clara to follow him out of the theatre.

"Clara, this is Rose," the Doctor introduced, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello," they spoke simultaneously, shaking hands. Clara glanced, eyebrow raised, at the Doctor.

"Rose and I were…we used to…She—"

"I’ve been lost," she cut in. "I haven’t seen him in a very long time." Rose looked into his eyes then, as if searching for something familiar. Her hands found their way to his bowtie and adjusted it curiously. "You’re different," she whispered to him.

His hands wrapped instinctively around her waist. “Yes.”

"How long have I been gone?"

"How are you here, now?" he countered.

"We’ve been working on this thing—we call it a dimension cannon—so I can come back." Rose couldn’t suppress her grin at the last bit.

The Doctor smiled sadly. He’d heard this before, though Rose was apparently saying it for the first time.

"Uh, if I can interrupt," Clara stage-whispered, "Come back from where? Another dimension?"

Rose glanced over. “She’s a smart one, her. Doesn’t miss a thing.”

"It’s a long story," The Doctor replied to them both, massaging his temples before bursting into action. "Rose! What’s the last thing you can remember me saying; where did you last see me?" He paced a few steps.

She crossed her arms and pressed her lips into a thin line. “You said, ‘Rose Tyler,’ and then you disappeared on that beach in Norway. Bad Wolf Bay.”

"So, you’ve not traveled between this universe and that since Canary Wharf—"

"—until now," she finished.

The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, pacing more furiously now.

Clara shook her head. “I really feel like I’m missing something.”

"So do I," said Rose, eyeing her up and down.

"You’re going to have to travel again, Rose."

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re sending me back?”

The Doctor walked quickly to her and held her hands in his. “Not exactly. You were supposed to land somewhere else, earlier in my time stream, later in Earth years. That’s where I first see you again, as you remember me.” He cradled her cheek gently.

Rose let her eyes slip shut as she leaned into his touch. “I’ve missed you.”

"I know," he murmured.

Rose opened her eyes and sighed. “Look, we have a sort of backup plan in case something goes wrong,” she conceded. “Someone will come round within twenty-four hours to check in and take me back if I’ve landed somewhere…outside the plan.”

"Splendid!" the Doctor shouted, throwing his hands up.

She clutched his arms. “But what if I don’t get it right next time? Time can be rewritten. What if I never find you?” Her eyes grew misty.

"No," he smiled reassuringly, stroking her cheek with his thumb, "You’ll get it right. I know."

She threw her arms around him then, hugging him for all the days they’d spent apart, their faces buried in each others’ necks. This body might be new and different, but deep in his eyes Rose had seen a glimpse of her Doctor. She trusted him, loved him. Neither wanted to let go, but after a number of minutes, the sound of a clearing throat guided them apart.

"Twenty-four hours, then!" Clara exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood. "Plenty of time for some fun."

Rose and the Doctor grinned. “Just like old times?” she asked.

"Oh, yes!"


End file.
